Colour of the Beloved Magic Tomboy
by Sturmgeschuts
Summary: Having finally had her revenge against the fairies who destroyed her home, and coming out as victorious against the witch, a certain ice fairy finds she has nothing more to do. Entertainment is thus delivered from an unlikely source, and it leads to a whole new mess for those around the misty lake.


It was an odd sight, the witch limping home. Her dress and hair were soaked, and the bristles of her broom stuck together with frost.

Alice Margatroid sat in a rocking chair in front of her home, a warm blanket on her lap as she worked on a new doll under the rare morning sun. "Marisa? What happened to you?"

The witch stopped and turned her head to give the puppeteer a sour look, her eyes showing signs of fatigue. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Honestly...well, you clearly need a change of clothes. You look like you came off on the bad end of an encounter with the ice fairy." Alice chuckled, placing her needle down.

"I uh...well, I did kinda...um..." Marisa trailed off, averting her gaze from the doll-maker.

"Oh. This. Is. Just. Grand." Alice raised a hand to her mouth to try and contain her laughter. "You were defeated by the ice fairy?"

"Why do you care?" Marisa turned to face the puppeteer completely.

"You lost to Cirno...oh, this is just too much." Alice put her needles and thread into her work basket, it was clear she wouldn't be able to focus on the new Amsterdam doll. "Please, I want to hear it all."

"Well, seems she's been waging a war against some fairies for some reason, but beat them all and wanted to take on a youkai. She found me, and despite me telling her that I'm human, she wanted to fight." Marisa walked towards the puppeteer, shrugging. "So I figured I'd play around a little, whack her a few times with my broom, and then be off."

"By the looks of it, things didn't go according to plan." Alice snickered at the broom.

The witch rubbed the back of her head. "Well, at first it was going how it normally would. She'd fire off a volley, I'd dodge, then I retaliate, except..."

"Except?"

"She actually froze my danmaku. Put them on ice and made them useless. Not only that, they were so cold that they froze the other shots near them too. I used lasers to get around that and break the danmaku, except...well, see for yourself. She shot the broom right out from under me and I went for a bit of a swim." Marisa pulled her hat off and attempted to wring out the brim. "All that said, could I borrow your bath? I'm afraid I'd have to do a bit of digging to get at mine at this time."

"Oh, sure. You've amused me, so it's the least I could do. How about some tea afterwards so you can tell me everything from the start?" Alice tucked the blanket off to the side and stood, as she lead the Witch back into the house she directed some dolls to carry her rocking chair inside.

* * *

.

"She wasn't so tough!" Cirno paraded around the edge of the lake triumphantly, her victory over the witch a fair boost to her ego. Now there was only one problem... .

"You've defeated the witch, well done. But your victory has come at a cost. You now have nothing interesting to do, correct?" A voice spoke from the tree line on the edge of the lake. A silhouette leaned against a tree, their face obscured.

"I...oh, drat. What'll I do? You got any ideas?" This person brought it up, so they should give up an idea or two.

"Hmm, I have just the thing. A little thing I found where the barrier is not at its best, here." The figure held a book out to Cirno; it had a picture of the ocean with a really big boat. "Play nicely now." Once the fairy had taken the book, the figure stepped into the forest, obscuring itself with an umbrella.

"A book? But books are boring!" Cirno plopped down at the base of a tree, pouting. "How am I gonna have fun with a book with a boat on it." She flailed around a bit then settled down, resigned to her fate. "Fine, it's better than nothing I guess, at least until someone else comes along." She opened the book and started to read, hoping no fairies would see her doing so; the teasing would be unbearable.

.

"...yeah yeah, I'll do that." Marisa shuffled away from Margatroid Manor, her clothes dried and her broom thawed. A couple hours of chatting with the doll-maker over tea and cookies was nice, but Alice really didn't have much to talk about aside from magic, which was fine and all, but... "But I want to talk about something different sometimes!" She shouted some distance from the house. She sighed and strolled off towards the lake, bored out of her mind.

There was a shout, followed by a crashing sound and the sounds of screaming. A voice rose up through the forest, loud and boisterous. "Avast! Ye scallywags are no match for my mighty vessel! It's sink or swim on this lake, and I'm not swimming today!"

The witch knew that voice all too well. Even as she moved past the waves of fleeing fairies escaping the misty lake she could feel herself getting giddy. Perhaps she just wanted a rematch with the fairy, somewhat embarrassed over her defeat, or perhaps the conversation with Alice had bored her so much that she needed to take her mind off all the magical theory for a while. When she stepped out of the forest to the lake's edge she was met with an odd, yet strangely dazzling sight.

Out on the water was a man-o-war made nearly entirely of ice. Bed sheets had been sewn together to make sails on three pillars of ice that formed the masts. Rigging had been made with whatever had been on hand, from scraps of fishing line and strong vines to socks and fairy clothing. To whom the articles of clothing belonged was unknown. At the helm of the frosty vessel stood Cirno with an eye patch and short sword made of ice. Long tubes of ice protruded from the sides of the ship, aimed at the lake's coast where several scattered fairies had been blasted with huge snowballs. Upon spotting the witch, the ship's captain laughed as heartily as a little fairy could. "Har! Returned for another round? I'll blast you like I did earlier!"

"_Okay Marisa, time to think fast. How does one go about not getting blasted by a boat with a fairy captain? Outrun? No, she'd likely knock the trees down to get me. Match power? No, I don't know the first thing about boatbuilding. Reason with her? She's a fairy, so no. Well then, that only leaves one possible survival plan..."_

"Hey, that looks fun! Can I join your crew?" The witch had never seen a vessel larger than a fishing boat, and even then had little idea of what one might do aboard such a craft. But to avoid a large snowball to the face or somesuch, she'd have to take up a life on the se-lake.

"Ah, so impressed by me victory that ye want ter join me crew? Yar! Climb aboard witch, I'll be making a sailor of you yet!" A sheet of ice spread from the deck and reshaped into stairs.

"_What the heck, nothing to lose but my dignity. Besides, I want to know exactly where she got the idea."_

As Marisa stepped aboard, she had to ask a question that was nagging at her. "Why are you talking like that?"

"This is the way a pirate talks! Fer that's what I be! Gensokyo's first pirate cap'n!" The fairy announced loudly to anyone who could hear. "The booty of the misty lake be mine fer the taking!"

The witch couldn't help but feel that Cirno sounded pretty stupid, talking like that. She would never talk like that, never in a million years.

Cirno raised her sword. "Now, we set sail for the center of the lake!"

The witch imitated the action. "Aye cap'n!" Marisa stopped and looked down at her hands in shock. "What am I doing?" She nearly toppled over as the entire ship shook, starting toward the lake's center.

"Come into me cabin, first mate Marisa. I've got to teach ye the ways of living on the open water, less ye sink into the shivering depths o' the lake." The fairy stepped through a small door into the ship's interior.

When the witch entered she found it smaller than expected. She had figured the ship was hollow like a large fishing boat, but this room was the only part of the ship that had an empty space. A bed of snow occupied one corner of the room, while on what appeared to be an altar, desk perhaps, sat a strongbox made of what she swore were the fragments of frozen danmaku. "Hey, what's in the box?"

"Me most important treasure, the very reason I am now a pirate. Hands off, or I'll keelhaul ye." Cirno waved her blade as a warning.

Wondering what it meant to be keelhauled, Marisa set her broom to float and sat upon it. "Well then, how exactly does one go about being a pirate?"

* * *

.

The fog that morning was thick, so thick that she could barely see the hinges on the other side of the gate from where she stood. Her eyes were sharp, perhaps not as sharp as the usual gatekeeper, but sharp enough to be the best at what she does; that being cleaning and knife-throwing. So for the fog to obscure her sight as such, it was something. More so was the silence that permeated about the mansion's grounds. With the rolling fog about no one wanted to be outside, and while she'd usually be inclined to join them, the gatekeeper was taking the day off due to stress. Sakuya Izayoi stood guard in her place, baffled by the normal keeper's mumblings of bright fireworks at night and ships at sea. There was no actual sea in Gensokyo, though the lake in comparison to the rest of the region might qualify. The head maid sighed, she was starting to realize just why Meiling had taken up gardening in the Mansion's grounds, simply standing there, while important, was likely boring enough to drive a person insane.

The sound of a large crack echoed through the fog, shattering the silence as an icicle long as a spear and thick as a man's thigh ripped into the ground in front of the gates.

Sakuya instantly had a set of knives in each hand, trying to spot the attacker in the fog. What sort of mischief was that ice fairy up to that she'd dare attack the mansion? Through the fog along the route the icicle had taken she could see some sort of shadow. As it stood, there was no way to tell what that shadow was, but it wasn't moving enough to be a fairy.

A quick volley of bright fiery lights slammed into the wall near Sakuya, burning away moss that had taken to growing in between the bricks. Each light was the size of a fist, but there were enough to burn an area the size of a queen sized bed into the wall.

Icicles were one thing, but danmaku of such energy were well outside that particular fairy's domain. Now sure something was up, Sakuya moved towards the origin of the lights, the shadow now more visible in the disturbed wake left in the fog. She could see a large mass with several poles rising from it, a tiny set of glowing lights were seen in the middle of it. Just when the shadow was starting to gain form, a new wave of fiery lights was sent her way, as well as a new icicle. The head maid dropped to the ground as the projectiles tore through the fog, the lights hissing on impact while the icicle connected with a deafening crash. A direct hit on the gates, sending shards of ice and iron into the courtyard, the direct hit elicited a cheer from the shadow. That was, for Sakuya, the last straw. Attacking was one thing, outright destroying the gates was absolutely unforgivable. She lifted her head to confront the shadow, only to behold the sight of something she was sure could not be there. Before her was a massive ship in the fog, three tall masts rose into the sky, sails drawn up while it laid siege to the manor. Two silhouettes moved across the deck, small one focusing on a thick tube protruding from the side of the vessel, and another one walking up and down the deck launching the volleys of fiery lights.

"Thar's the lookout! Blast'er 'fore she can alert the other defenders!" The smaller figure shouted this as the tube turned to face Sakuya. A mere second later a new icicle was sent her way.

The head maid jumped to the side and began her retreat to the mansion, a new volley of fiery danmaku nearly cutting her down as she did so. When she reached the gates she simply went over the wall and stopped behind the stone masonry to catch her breath. What the hell was going on?

A pair of giggles echoed from the fog towards the manor, the sound of wood clacking against the cobblestones alongside footsteps followed. A row of lights sixteen across in seven colours lit up in the fog, to the right of that was a single glowing red eye. "It's rather noisy out here. What is happening, Sakuya?"

"Lady Flandre, please go back inside for now until I resolve some difficulties with a visitor outside." Another crack rang out and a set of bricks in the wall were dented inwards, bits of the mortar spilling down.

"Oh this looks like fun. Let's go take a look Kogasa." Flandre Scarlet lifted up off the ground and over the wall.

"Don't worry, I'll watch out for her." The owner of the large eye assured the maid. "I'm sure that my umbrella half will serve as a suitable shield should we be attacked." Hopping off her foot, Kogasa Tatara followed her mistress.

As much as Sakuya knew that the ship likely stood no chance against the vampire and her Karakasa cohort, she could not simply leave things as they were. If she were to leave it to the sister of the devil, not only would she not be able to question the perpetrators afterwards, but she'd receive a rather vicious reprimand from the mistress of the manor. She braced her gut, and readied to go back over the wall... .

* * *

.

The bombardment was going according to plan. The projectiles in the air had made the results of their efforts visible, revealing a shattered gate, scorched and cracked walls, and rough terrain in front of it all. Captain Cirno of the Paradise surveyed their work. Her new icicle cannon and the ship's magician's fiery danmaku had done the damage. Now came the fun part. "Now we loot and pillage! Ready yer broom, witch! Today we bring to port the booty!"

"Just so I know, what is constituted as 'booty' in this effort?" Marisa had managed to keep the funny way of talking from fully infecting her; though it was a surprisingly conscious effort.

"Two things! Sweets and books, those are the booty we be after!" The captain raised her sword towards the walls. "And o' course we best kidnap the women while we be at it. And look, the dogs have sent them out for us!"

While wondering why such a stupid fairy was interested in books, the witch squinted at the wall, noticing a row of lights in seven colours. "Uh, Captain...Those are—"

"Ahoy thar me pretties! Come aboard quietly and there won't be no trouble." The fairy captain called out.

Flandre took up the invitation, landing on the deck, the Karakasa behind her putting a foot down as well. "Thank you for the invitation. What exactly are you doing out here though?"

"Yar, we be raiding the mansion, grabbing the booty and starting our own treasure hoard!" The captain cheered. "We'll become the first true pirates of Gensokyo, yar!"

"Mistress Flan, I think this might be interesting to watch. They seem to be at odds with Sakuya, which we both know is quite a show." Kogasa whispered to her owner. She was interested in the raid, sure, but she mostly wanted to keep the vampire out of harm's way. Complying with the pirates wishes was the simplest way of going about that.

"Very well, we'll play along. May we watch?" If her umbrella was right, then this would be more fun than scaring the fairy maids in the halls.

"O' course! Watch the finest pirate captain in all of Gensokyo as she is the first to plunder this estate!" Cirno raised her sword, readying to charge.

A dagger flew out from the fog, shattering the icy blade in the fairy's grip. On top of the wall surrounding the mansion stood the head maid, a set of daggers already ready to be launched at a moment's notice. "M'lady, please go back inside the mansion while I deal with these pests."

"Yar, they're coming with me landlubber! I'm not afraid o' yer wee blades!" A new sword materialised in the captain's hand from the mist in the air. "First mate Kirisame, we'll be dealing with this scallywag 'fore we start the pillaging!" From the deck of the ship several new cannons sprouted, each pointed at the maid. "Fire!" She raised her sword towards the maid, and all the ice cannons fired off in succession.

**Privateer sign: Cannonade**

Marisa just stood and gawked at the strange spellcard. Just when had it been made? She hadn't seen anything like that in the morning.

There was less gawking and more dodging done by Sakuya, ducking around one of the icicles and moving to close the distance to the ship. She was very nearly knocked out of the air as a second volley was launched.

The sound of stone cracking from the blows reached the witch's ears, and she was able to piece together exactly what sort of attack this was.

"_It has a slow reload and doesn't seem that hard to dodge, but if one of those hits you, you're done for. Definitely meant for use against other large ships like this one...also, she's using the boat itself in the spellcard. I'm going to have to sit down for a long chat with her later, seriously, this is a five-star show off level!"_

When the barrage came to an end, the captain frowned at the sight before her. The wall was a cracked mess filled with holes. The gate had been completely obliterated as well, meaning that just about anyone could sneak in. And in front of the wall stood the maid, calmly smoothing out her uniform. That level of calmness after such an attack angered Cirno, who raised her hand then planted it on the deck.

**Privateer sign: Mast-breaker**

Each of the cannons fired a pair of ice orbs linked together with a chain of ice, the whirling projectiles carried in curving arcs towards the maid.

Sakuya waited for the orbs to come close and jumped into the air, letting them crash into the dirt below. She twisted mid-air and sent a volley of knives at the ship, cringing when she saw Flandre on the deck. "M'lady, please escape to a safe location!" The cannons aboard the ship did not let up even with her attack, though she really shouldn't have expected such a thing.

The knives were easily dodged by the captain and her first mate, the 'captives' on the other hand, instead of dodging simply used the Karakasa's umbrella as a shield.

"_Okay, once again we have something meant for sinking boats. Not too great against the maid, but still quite high in the show-off rating. How many new cards did she prepare anyway?"_

One of the whirling chains had actually caught the head maid's foot in that volley, pulling her down to the ground and slamming both orbs into her. Thankfully they had used up most of their momentum on the dirt, so the maid was still able to stand afterwards. Her calm, cool demeanor had been broken as she wiped some dirt from her face.

"Still standing are ye? Surrender now ye scurvy dog and I'll spare you yet!" The captain boldly declared this from a perch on top of her first cannon.

The answer was sent in the form of a volley of knives, sending the captain toppling backwards for cover. "Lady Flandre, please step off the ship immediately!"

"Oh no you don't! She's my captive and will remain so!" Cirno slammed her foot down, a second row of cannons formed from the side of the hull below the deck guns. "I'll send ye to Davy Jones' Locker!"

**Privateer sign: Grape Shot**

Before anyone there could begin to wonder who exactly Davy Jones was, the cannons began firing off in a random order, each shot splintering into hundreds of smaller projectiles, peppering the dirt and forcing the maid to dance backwards to avoid them. The volume of fire was simply too much, however, as icicles began to fray the edges of her dress. She came close to being defeated as an icicle put itself on a course that would put it right in her face, but the icicle was shattered by a fist crashing into it.

Each icicle that came close to the maid was deflected or outright shattered by a woman with fiery red hair, her palms and fists unaffected by the projectiles. When she was certain she was in the clear, she retaliated in a manner meant to disrupt the vessel.

**Flower Sign: Selaginella 9**

Like a thorny flower blooming, a wave of danmaku erupted from the palms of the true gatekeeper, shattering the remaining icicles in the air and sending the people on the ship scurrying for cover. Hong Meiling surveyed the vessel before her, noting the deep blue colour of the hull. "I apologise for taking so long, I will accept my punishment later. But first we must repel the invaders and rescue Lady Flandre."

Sakuya looked up at her co-worker, thankful for the rescue. "It's hard to get close, the cannons give it a very wide range of fire. I'm avoiding the use of my stopwatch until the fairy is out of spellcards, mostly due to the witch."

"Those two? Such an odd combination, but a dangerous one. What's more, it seems Cirno has grown in power recently." The gatekeeper watched the fairy captain step up on top of the cannon again, making it clear that another barrage was imminent. "Sakuya, follow close behind me. I'll block the incoming icicles and move close to the ship. Strike when it's clear." Without even waiting for confirmation, Meiling began her advance on the ship.

"Yar, a new contender approaches! Just another fish to blast!" Cirno raised her sword up, blade pointing down. She stabbed it into the top of the cannon, grinning wickedly. The entire ship shook, increasing in length and height, a third row of cannons materialising below the second on the hull. A new mast sprouted near the stern, a skeleton compared to the other three. "I'll blast you scallywags to the edges of the world!"

**Admiralty sign: Tempest Oblivion**

The barrage unleashed was like no other, icicles firing from the rows of cannons in quick succession, the time between each volley less than half the original time. When the last cannon fired the first was already firing again, creating a continuous hail of projectiles.

"_Just what the hell is going on? I get that she's gotten stronger, but where did she get an idea for an attack like that? And what is admiralty anyway? Forget weird, this is just plain wrong!"_

The witch and the 'captives' on the ship's deck were unable to keep their footing as the vessel was rocked by each and every blast of the icy cannons. Marisa grabbed her broom and lifted several feet off the ground, watching the spectacle before her. She couldn't help but notice, however, that cracks were forming in the ship's hull. "It's too much to handle..."

Meiling took the barrage in stride, deflecting the projectiles gracefully as she marched towards the Paradise. Occasionally an icicle would come at her from the direct front; these were easily disposed of with a single punch each, leaving little more than cold dust.

Eventually the barrage came to an end, the beach had been turned into a forest of icy spikes protruding from the ground except for a single line leading to the gatekeeper halfway down to the vessel. From this path left in the gatekeeper's wake a single knife was sent at Cirno's head, this was easily dodged. "Ha! Still alive are ye? Well I still have one more card to play matey!" The ship began to rattle and started turning to face the mansion. "I'll keelhaul ye and carve a path straight to the mansion. Consider your booty mine!"

**Eye of the Storm: Battering Ram**

The Paradise slowly began to pick up speed towards Meiling and Sakuya, the frozen vessel making no real distinction between the lake's water and the shore. The icicles between the ship and the gatekeeper simply shattered as the man-o-war reached ramming speed.

"Hold..." Meiling made no effort to flee, instead standing her ground and adopting a ready stance. "Hold..." She pulled her right fist back, focusing qi into her hand. "Hold..." The ship was closing in.

"Wait, she isn't going to..." Marisa turned pale. "Captain, I'll take the prisoners out of the line of fire, they're not much good to use if they're hit by the maid's knives!"

"Very well then, don't dally though, I'll need ye to haul the booty!" The fairy captain didn't even look back at the witch, instead standing with her arms crossed as the Paradise approached the gatekeeper.

"Both of you, let's get off this ship. We can watch from a safe distance. Trust me on this, it'll be more fun if we aren't at risk of being crushed." The witch was already preparing to fly away.

"Mistress Flan, I do believe staying on this ship will quickly lose its entertainment value, as the witch says. Shall we watch from a reasonable distance?" Kogasa wasn't exactly sure what the witch was concerned about, but she had more faith in Meiling than a large block of ice.

"Oh fine. I'm starting to feel ill on this ship anyway." Flandre lifted into the air, one hand on her stomach. "Kogasa, I think I need to lie down."

"Yes, this way Mistress Flan. I believe there should be some stomach medicine in the kitchen, I will fetch you some as well." Kogasa hopped off her foot into the air, grabbing the vampire's arm. "How about a game of chess? I do believe we are still tied at..." They disappeared into the fog, their voices drowned out by the ice grinding below.

Marisa flew to what she figured was a safe distance, wondering just how she got mixed up in all this.

The ship was finally within arm's reach of the gatekeeper, who brought her fist forward into a hairline crack in the hull of the Paradise with a mighty shout.

All at once the air grew silent, the man-o-war had ceased all movement, and after Meiling's shout the lake water was simply too quiet to be noticed. The fog then rumbled with a sound akin to thunder, echoing from the depths of the Man-o-war. The hairline crack on the bow of the ship grew, connecting to other hairline cracks formed during the final barrage. The cracks spread in spider web-like patterns all across the hull and deck, causing the vessel to shake violently. When the first mast came crashing down, it was certain this was the end of the Paradise.

"No! My treasure!" Cirno rushed across the deck, dodging falling ice and rising sections of the deck, racing for her cabin. Inside the small room it was hard to tell exactly what was happening outside, but cracks were carrying through there as well. The ice fairy flew over to her desk and grabbed the lock-box of frozen energy, throwing it open as the ceiling began to cave in. "The captain goes down with her ship, huh." For those last moments she dropped her pirate voice, curling into a protective position around the book that had spawned all her recent plans and ideas. "It was fun while it lasted... ."

* * *

.

"I found her!" Marisa called out to the others sorting through the pile of shattered ice that was once the mighty Paradise. She reached down and lifted Cirno out of the debris. In the unconscious fairy's arms was a book, held in a death grip. "Now what do we have here?"

* * *

.

She could hear muffled voices, each familiar, but distorted beyond understanding. Her eyes began to crack open, her vision was blurry, but the first thing she saw was a mass of black white and blonde. Her fingers closed together, and she became alarmed at how empty they were. "Book..."

"It's fine, no damage done. A fascinating read though, pirates, buccaneers, and all that. This Henry Morgan fellow sounds particularly interesting." Marisa smiled. "Now I know what gave you those ideas, but I have to ask, who gave this to you? This book seems to be from the outside world."

"On the edge of the lake...the lady...with the umbrella..." Cirno was still somewhat out of it. Every part of her ached and she felt warmer than she'd like.

"Ahh, say no more, say no more. It makes much more sense now. You rest up, and don't cause any more trouble. The folks living here are only letting you stay because the little sister said it would be alright. That, and they're making you fix the wall and gate." The witch stepped away from the bed. "I'm going to have a word with this umbrella lady by the lake. Your book is right beside you for when you're able to move again."

"Okay...thank you...Matey." The ice fairy grinned as if she had won instead of being crushed.

"Jeez, I want the kind of energy you fairies have, I'd get so much done if I did..." Marisa sighed and shrugged, leaving the fairy to rest.

* * *

.

"Alright then, come on out. There's no way you wouldn't have stayed to watch." Marisa shouted this to the tree line on the far side of the lake, near where she'd first seen 'Captain Cirno'.

A silhouette stepped into view among the trees. "My my, what a show. It is nice to wander off from home every now and then. Such fun, though I can't say I'm fond of the weather around this lake."

Marisa frowned. "Wait, you're not—"

"Yukari? Oh no, she wouldn't be out at this time of day. And even when she does appear while the sun is out, it's usually to that shrine maiden." The speaker gave a wicked grin.

Marisa stepped back from the person. "But why—"

"—did I start this? Because I had found a book, and there was a fool around who would imitate its contents. Though I did have to come quite a ways to give it to her." The silhouette closed her umbrella and pointed it at the witch. "And now, I would have you do something for me. After all, I'm certain you're bored as usual."

Marisa thought about it for a moment, pondering the person before her. Finally she sighed, lowering her hat to hide her eyes as her lips parted into a mischievous grin. "Alright then, let's hear it."

* * *

.  
.

And it be done! Behold mateys! A tale o' the high seas fit for any scurvy dog and landlubber! All in honour of Buccaneer's Days in me home port! A celebration that pays our respects to those old sea dogs of ages past; looting and pillaging in the name of her majesty, and for themselves on the side.

If it wasn't apparent, this takes place pretty much immediately after fairy wars, and a little after my own story "Plaything to a devil". I'm not sure if Fairy wars took place before Ten Desires, I'm not sure if there's any indication of such. If it did take place before, well too late now. Anywho, as you can see, I've kept up the naming scheme, seems like this will be a habit.

Spellcards were mostly in reference to the types of ammunition fired from actual cannons. Cannonballs, chain-shot, and grape-shot. The second to last card is in reference to a pirate-themed album by an ambient-music group, and the last card is in reference to a specific metal song. Kudos to anyone who can figure those out, though I'm not crossing my fingers, ha!

I recently noticed that Marisa's speech in the stories I've written so far is much more sophisticated than what's found in the Canon. Or at least compared to the way she speaks in "Symposium of Post-mysticism" when she's speaking with Akyu, Kanako, Byakuren, and Toyasatomimi no Miko. Then again, her writings are pretty clear in "Grimoire of Marisa" and what I've seen of her in-game. So I dunno...Oh well, what I have going for me works well enough.

Expect more from this in the future, though not necessarily as a new chapter. I have plans, scary, dangerous plans that may shake the foundations of the touhou fandom itself!

...well, maybe at least among the few readers I have in the fandom. Still, I'm having fun, so it's all good.


End file.
